Member Avatar for Catweazle

The BBC’s Director General Mark Thompson has announced plans to introduce a BBCPlayer service, which will enable viewers to download and play seven days of programs, and also to simulcast one of the BBC channels. The simulcast will only be made available to UK viewers. It is quite likely that archived content will be sold online also.

Unless broadcasters adapt, Mr. Thompson suggests, they will be unable and unworthy to retain their licenses in years to come.

Britain is expected to switch to ‘digital-only’ broadcasting quite soon. The digital revolution is definitely upon us.

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Member Avatar for benna

First of all, as someone in the US, I wish they would let me use it, though i know it wouldn't be fair, since I don't pay for it with my taxes. I used to watch BBC World using a proxy but they no longer stream that. It's too bad, since it was much better than CNN.

I would be surpised if the BBC sold its content online. People in the UK pay for it already with taxes, and in all likelyhood the BBC would distribute it for free. The BBC is really much smarter than the networks in the US. The internet is the future.

I think you might be confusing digital broadcasting with webcasting though. The UK is switching to digital television, as is the US, because of its theoretical higher quality and (in reality) because it takes less bandwidth. This is really unrelated to the webcasting.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

No, benna, a simulcast (webcasting plus broadcasting) was definitely put on the agenda at the recent Edinburgh Television Festival. Webcasting will follow soon after the switch to digital-only broadcasting, which is expected within a matter of months, apparently. The MyBBCPlayer should arrive early next year.

Member Avatar for benna

I'm not disputing that. You just made it sound like a digital broadcast was the same as a webcast.

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